I'm majoring in philosophy, and plan to go to law school. I'm just wondering how the lawyers who has been there, done that, went about it. What's a good LSAT score? I'm thinking 165 and over? And how did you prepare for it? And what was your GPA? What should I keep it at? I currently have a 4.0 GPA, but I'm screwing up big time this semester, so that 4.0 will go poof. I'm hoping to go to either Georgetown or New York University law schools. Cornell would be nice, but dunno if I can get in. I think/hope I'll end up practicing in New York, so a New York school is ideal.

The best way to prepare for the LSAT is to purchase the sample/practice exams and take them under real exam conditions (This last part is the most important). I took the LSAT way back when they were on the "48" scale, so I don't know how the scores correlate now.

Also note that you may have a better shot at the national law schools that have very large 1L classes (Harvard, NYU, Georgetown, etc.) as opposed to the small law schools (Yale, Stanford) because those schools are large enough (400+ 1Ls per year) to want geographic diversity. That means that you generally have a better shot if you are from the middle of nowhere, but a harder chance if you are from a big city with good schools.

My ex took one of those Kaplan courses to prepare for the LSAT. It cost something like a grand, but she says it was absolutely worth it. I think her first LSAT score was a 155 or something around there, and her final real LSAT score was 163 if I remember right. Basically you take a ton of practice exams, and they show you your score and how you did broken up by question types. Then the teacher goes over each question type and you try to improve.

I'm not sure about GPA but I think it plays a role. She had a 3.98 undergrad GPA, and got accepted to UVA Law, but turned down at Harvard. She's now going to William and Mary, who offered a scholarship.

Yeah, I would second the Kaplan/Princeton Review class, if you can afford it. Those exams are mostly a matter of practice, technique and preparation, and not so much about raw intelligence, though that doesn't hurt either. If you can't afford the course, buy a couple prep books on the subject, read through them, and just take practice exam after practice exam.

There's a site on the internet where you can punch in your GPA/LSAT and get "% chance of admission" at all the law schools, though I don't remember the URL. (It's been awhile). It's pretty accurate, especially if you're a white kid from the suburbs.

My advice is to take some practice tests and not stress it. The LSAT is not very hard, and law school isn't much of an effort for anyone with some reasonable reading comprehension and writing abilities.